Harry Shannon
Florida schools continue to allow parents to decide which books can remain in the libraries of the state’s public schools.
Since Governor Ron DeSantis announced the new policy, many groups, especially Christian organizations, have demanded the removal of most books from the shelves.
This includes almost all the English cla…
Emitting carbon to reduce carbon emissions??
Harry Shannon
Some years ago, McDonald’s in Canada had an ad campaign using the line: “There’s a little McDonald’s in everyone.” Meaningless, of course, but I assume it worked to sell their food (or, as some people would argue, their ‘food’).
Then the Toronto Star ran an article about how the population is getting too fat becau…
Fox Corporation revises staff training
Harry Shannon
Fox Corporation will change the training its employees receive when they start work. The primary focus will be on how to avoid being caught in a lie or a criminal offence. The move follows two recent scandals involving Fox.
The first is now well known. Rupert Murdoch, the founder and chair of the board of Fox, has acknowledged …
Simplistic propaganda
Harry Shannon
My latest letter in the Hamilton Spectator. It's pretty much self-explanatory, though see below for some background as well as the paragraph that the newspaper edited out.
Simplistic propaganda
The letter writer (Death toll is ‘window dressing,’ February 27) claims that the sole cause of violence on the West Bank is Pale…
U.S. and Canadian politicians join forces in renaming project
Harry Shannon
Former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is working with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to change the names of the Trans-Canada Highway and the Trans-Alaska pipeline.
Palin told a news conference that evangelical groups have complained about the use of “trans” in…
I’m Not a Customer
Harry Shannon
Here's my letter that appeared in the Hamilton Spectator recently. It's self-explanatory - no background info needed.
Not a Customer
I called Premier Doug Ford’s office to give my opinion on some of his policies. Before I spoke to a human, a recorded message told me I would be forwarded to a ‘Customer Service Representat…
U.S. Supreme Court justices sought new solution to problem of originalism
Harry Shannon
The U.S. Supreme Court justices who believe in originalism have been using an unusual method to help their decisions.
Originalism is the view that interpretations of the U.S. Constitution should be based on the “original meaning,” that is, the meaning understood by those who adopted the Constitution.
As many critics have…
Ebola epidemic sweeping across Alberta
Since a male Alberta resident returned home from overseas several weeks ago, 273 people have died from ebola disease and thousands more are believed to be infected. Other provinces are refusing entry to anyone from Alberta.
The initial case (‘Case X) flew home maskless from Europe while asymptomatic. Case X fell ill and was diagnosed with ebo…
A divided city?
Harry Shannon
Just over 20 years ago, the Ontario government created a new City of Hamilton by amalgamating what had previously been the city with surrounding towns. At the time it was highly controversial. One town, Dundas, held a plebiscite (an unofficial vote) on the issue. About half the electorate voted - far more than typically turn out f…
Failure to sample can be dangerous to your health
Harry Shannon
Background: Municipalities in Ontario held elections last week. A couple of days before, the Hamilton Spectator published a letter complaining that an opinion poll reporting on the race for Mayor was useless. I responded and the letter was in the print edition a few days later. Below is the letter I sent; there were some minor edi…